Has Bean, the journey from plant to cup with Django Coffee

Ever wondered about the journey of the coffee bean from the plant to your cup? Read on to discover just how coffee is made, along with a sneak peek of what’s inside this month’s Django Coffee Co. box…

Planting - Did you know that a coffee bean is a seed that has been dried and roasted? Well it is these unprocessed beans which are planted in nurseries, usually during the wet season.

Harvesting – It takes 3-4 years for these plants to become coffee trees and begin yielding fruit in the form of bright red berries. These berries are either picked by hand or stripped by a machine before they are shipped to a processing plant.

Processing - approximately 100 to 200 pounds of coffee cherries produces 20 to 40 pounds of coffee beans, so how do they turn these juicy cherries into beans? Well there are two methods, wet and dry. The dry method is generally used in places that have less access to water, and the beans are simply left out in the sun where they are raked and turned throughout the day.

With the wet method, beans are placed in a machine which separates the skin and pulp from the bean. The beans are then transferred to large, water-filled fermentation tanks for up to 48 hours to remove the slick outer layers before rinsing. These beans are then dried to 11% moisture.

Milling – Any remaining unnecessary layers must be removed from the beans using machines. After this they may be polished, before being graded and sorted.

Exporting – These milled beans AKA green coffee, is now ready to be shipped out to roasteries and factories worldwide.

Tasting – expert tasters embark on a process known as ‘cupping’. The beans are evaluated for their quality, characteristics and flavours.

Roasting – Only the very best beans make it to the roasting phase, where they are placed in machines that maintain a temperature of about 550 degrees Fahrenheit. The beans are constantly moved to prevent burning, and once they are perfectly roasted they must reach the consumer quickly to maintain quality.

Grinding and Brewing – Ever noticed how your barista grinds the coffee beans in front of your eyes before turning them a delicious beverage? Well this ensures the coffee remains fresh and full of flavour, so you get the very best cup of coffee every single time.